The New York Giants seemed to have a blast on Thursday night while blasting the New England Patriots, 42-10, in their preseason finale. The Giants finished their preseason undefeated at 3-0. Let’s review in our unique ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ style.
Kudos to …
Greg Dulcich — Dulcich caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jaxson Dart, his second TD catch on a Dart pass in as many games, and a 1-yard touchdown pass from Tommy DeVito. He also had a touchdown-saving tackle on a punt return by New England’s Jeremiah Webb. Dulcich finished with four catches on four targets for 26 yards.
Elijah Chatman — This dude started the game at fullback AND defensive tackle. That’s pretty darn cool!
Gunner Olszewski — The veteran return man/reserve wide receiver might have played his way on to the roster Thursday night. He had three catches for 68 yards, including a catch-and-run of 50 yards from Jaxson Dart. Olszewski has never made much impact as a receiver during his career, but he always seem to be where the quarterback expects him to be. Oh, and he catches the ball.
Jameis Winston — Enter the game, take a deep shot on your first play, throw a touchdown pass. You have got to love Winston.
The Giants’ screen game — We saw a number of well-executed screen passes to Dante Miller in the first two preseason games. Thursday night, Tommy DeVito and Jonathan Ward combined for a 41-yard touchdown on a screen. The Giants are good at the screen pass now? How did that happen?
Tommy DeVito — If that was DeVito’s last game as a Giant, it was quite the game. Devito led the Giants to touchdowns on each of his first three drives. He finished the night 17 of 20 for 198 yards and 3 TDs. The most important thing he did? DeVito might have played well enough to get himself traded to a quarterback-needy team rather than cut, thus earning the Giants draft compensation.
Kaylee Hartung — The sideline reporter gets her ‘Kudos’ for getting Dexter Lawrence to do this, and for nailing her version of Dex’s sack dance:
The overall defensive effort — Yes, they were playing against a New England team using someone named Ben Wooldridge at quarterback. Still, they held the Patriots to 191 total yards and 12 first downs.
Scoring points and having fun — The Giants scored 42 points — yes, 42 points — on Saturday. They had 431 total yards of offense. They played well, and you could tell from the celebrations and the way the players on the sideline were jumping around that they were enjoying themselves. They had fun, and it was fun to watch.
Wet Willies to …
Beaux Collins — The undrafted free agent rookie wide receiver might have missed his opportunity to earn a roster spot. He had a bad drop on a pass where he was wide open across the middle. Worse, he ran a wrong route that cost his quarterback an interception for the second straight game. This time, it came on a fourth-and-4 pass by Jameis Winston from the Patriots’ 18-yard line. If you are going to play wide receiver in the NFL, quarterbacks have to trust that you will be where you are supposed to be.
The T.J. Moore injury — The NFL can be cruel. Moore played an excellent game, highlighted by a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown. At one point in the second half, Moore’s teammates were seen celebrating a special teams play by Moore and cornerback Art Green.
Then, Moore was down, surrounded by devastated teammates, and taken off the field in a cart with an air cast on his leg.
Kwillies to …
Jalin Hyatt — Missed two opportunities to haul in seemingly catchable deep balls from Jaxson Dart, but did get behind the defense for a 30-yard touchdown catch from Winston. Hyatt finished his night with three catches on six targets for 38 yards.
Jaxson Dart — The rookie quarterback got the start and led the Giants on a game-opening five-play, 65-yard touchdown drive, hitting tight end Greg Dulcich for a 7-yard score. That drive included a 50-yard catch and run by wide receiver Gunner Olszewski off some improvisation from Dart.
Dart finished the night 6 of 12 for 81 yards. He made the rookie mistake the Giants have been coaching him to avoid on a fourth-and-4 at the Giants’ 45-yard line. Dart got the first down easily, but wasn’t satisfied. Rather than sliding, as he should have, he tried to split two defenders. He fumbled, which he got away with because of a New England penalty, but took an unnecessary hit that landed him in the tent for a concussion check.
Gotta learn to protect yourself, young man!
Dart’s preseason was pretty impressive.
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